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U.S. to maintain sanctions, pressure on North Korea after Trump-Kim Jong Un summit nixed

The United States will keep pressure on North Korea to come to the negotiating table and abandon its nuclear weapons program, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday after President Trump canceled his summit with the North. He said sanctions will continue to squeeze North Korea's economy.

U.S. to maintain sanctions, pressure on North Korea after Trump-Kim Jong Un summit nixed

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea did not respond to repeated requests from U.S. officials to discuss logistics for the now-canceled summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (May 24)
AP

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill May 24, 2018, in Washington, DC. Originally scheduled to focus on the FY2019 budget, the hearing was sidetracked by President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States is pulling out of the planned summit with North Korea.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The United States will keep pressure on North Korea to come to the negotiating table and abandon its nuclear weapons program, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday after President Trump canceled his planned summit with the North.

He said sanctions will continue to squeeze North Korea's economy, along with diplomatic efforts to possibly reschedule a summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which had been set for June 12 in Singapore.

Trump abruptly canceled the meeting Thursday morning, citing North Korea's angry response to comments made by Vice President Pence. Pompeo also pointed out that North Korea did not respond to repeated efforts by U.S. diplomats to arrange logistics for the summit.

Pompeo said the U.S. will continue to work with other countries to monitor and intercept ship-to-ship transfers to North Korea, and transfers of refined petroleum and other products.

“That won’t change. We still have work to do to build out each of those,” he said. “We will go back to others to do more as well.”

Pompeo said China also agreed to maintain pressure by cutting back its trade with North Korea at Trump's request. China is Pyongyang's main trading partner.

“It’s very very important that the world observes that this effort continues,” Pompeo said. “We need our partners who have done so much good work at economic pain to their own countries, it is essential to get this outcome.”

Pompeo said he participated in meetings with Trump before the president announced canceling the summit.

“We did talk about the path forward in the days and weeks ahead to get back to where we were four weeks ago,” Pompeo told the senators. “I hope that we are quickly able to get back to that place, but Chairman Kim will have to make that decision himself.”

Pompeo read aloud Trump's letter to Kim that said: “Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you.” The president also included a threat: "You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used."

The proposed summit "was an opportunity to test Kim Jong Un’s intentions," said North Korea analyst Kelsey Davenport, with the Arms Control Association, on Twitter. "The rhetoric in Trump’s letter and comparison of nuclear weapons sizes, risks opportunities for future talks and returning the United States to the tit-for-tat escalation of 2017."

But the #NorthKorea summit was an opportunity to test Kim Jong Un’s intentions. The rhetoric in Trump’s letter & comparison of nuclear weapons sizes, risks opportunities for future talks & returning the United States to the tit-for-tat escalation of 2017. 3/

Boris Epshteyn, a former special assistant to Trump who's now chief political analyst at the Sinclair Broadcast Group, said North Korea "is careening to a complete economic disaster" that could lead to a possible revolt by its people.

He noted an 80% drop in China's reported imports from North Korea, making Kim's only option is to seek another summit with Trump.

Another analyst, Vipin Narang, who teaches political science at MIT, called such hopes "delusional."

"China definitely fears a collapsed North Korea more than a nuclear North Korea," Narang said.

North Korea already achieved multiple objectives through the failed diplomatic process, he said. Without meeting Trump, Kim keeps his nuclear arsenal, at least for now. He broke Trump's maximum pressure campaign by meeting twice with Chinese President Xi Jinping and ending their period of frosty relations.

Narang also said Trump’s cancellation damages U.S. relations with South Korea, where hopes were high for peace and possible reunification with the North after last month's cheerful meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea.

The North “baited Trump into pulling out of the meeting, making the U.S. look like the guilty party,” Narang said on Twitter. “This is a bad day for the U.S.”

North Korea (1) keeps its nukes, (2) broke maximum pressure by peeling China off, (3) damaged the US-ROK alliance, (4) baited Trump into pulling out of the meeting making the US look like the guilty party. This is a bad day for the US. https://t.co/5hC5qEpALf